Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
49580
S P E C I F I C A T I 0 N -
~ his invention relates generally to devices in the
~orm o~ splints which are used to immobilize to a required
extent the wris-t, the forearm, and the elbow of an individual
in the process of ~raining the individual to properly throw
5 or strike a ball in games where such balls are useds and parti-
cularly as a training aid in the game o~ tennis where the ball
i8 struck by a hand held tennis racket.
There are a number of essen-tial requirements one
must master in order to become proficient in the game of tennis.
10 One of the most important requirements consists o~ developing
a proper swing o~ the racket and consequently, the ~rm that is
holding it. To accomplish a proper swing, the whole arm must
act as a single unit, by reducing the independent action o~
the wrist, the forearm, and the albow, to a minimum. Inability
15 to do so results in poor playing, and often in considerable ~ - -
pain in the elbow region, commonly re:~erred to as ~tennie é`lbown.
This invention has a two ~o:Ld objective, namely, to -~
help in the training of the beginner to develop the proper
swing and stroke, during his early training period~ and a safe~
20 guard agains~ "tennis elbow~, which is experienced by beginners
a~ well a~ by experienced players.
The above results are accomplished by the lnvention
by providing a splint type arm support which consists of three
sections, i.e. the wrist æupport, the ~orearm support, and the
25 elbow support. These sections can be used as an entire unit,
or in part, so that the player who is having difficulty in
controlling his wrist can use the wrist support only~ one having
di~fuculty with the wrist and ~orearm can use the wriæt and~;
forearm combinatîont and the entire support is used when a
~0 player is having difficulties with the wrist, forearm, and
elbow, The device can also be used by accomplished tennis
players to overcome any o~ the above mentioned di~icul-ties,
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when -they occur.
In describing the invention raference will be made
to the attached drawings in which,-
Figure 1, is an isometric view of the wrist support,
Flgure 2, shows the back view of the hand and forearm
wearing the wrist support,
Figure 3, shows tha front view of the hand shown in
Figure 2,
Figure 4, is an isometric view of the elbow support,
Figure 5, i8 an isometric view of the wrist and
forcarm support,
~igure 6, shows a back view o~ the arm wearing the
support o~ Figure 5,
! Figure 7, shows a ~ront view of Figuré:6,
Figure ~, shows a back view of the arm wearing the
complete support, including the elbow piece~ and
Figure 9, shows a front view of Figure 8, ~ :
The wrist support, as shorm in Figure 1, consists
primarily of a semi-flexible strip 1, pre~errably of a non-
20 corrosive spring type metal, slightly bent to conform with the
contour of the back c~ th~ hand. Attached to the front end o~
the strip 1, is a hand transverse piece 2, pre~errably made of
a ~lexiblc plastic material, which fits against the back o~ the
hand, A tape 3 which is of the adhering type, commonly Xnown
25 as "Velcro", is attached to one end of the piece 2, while the ..
other end of said pi.ece is provided with the companion of the
~Yelcro~ adhesive. The piece 2, is made narrower in its center ~-
and into widened rounded ends. It is bent at an angle of about
15 to the strip 1 t and it is generally designed to provlde a
30 firm and comfortable contact with the back o~ the han~, and
freedom of movement to the ~ingers for a strong and correct
hold on the tennis racket handle grip when it is wrapped around
the hand, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. .
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A mid transverse piece 4 is attached to the strip 1,
far enough away from the hand transverse piece to allow clear-
ance for -the pain-sensitive ends of the ~orearm bones at the
wrist, and the joint between these bones and middle wrist.
The piece 4 which is also preferrably made of a flexible plastic,
is located on the palmar side of the hand and is provided with
a wraparound Trade ~ark "Velcro~ tape 5 which wraps around the
~orearm and holds ths piece 4 snugly around it.
An end-transverse piece 6 is attached to the other
end of the strip 1, is made of the same material as the other
;~ transverse pieces. This piece is also provided with a "Velcro"T.M.
tape 7 which holds it firmly but comfortably around the forearm.
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The strip 1, is made just long enough to properly locate the
piece 6 at its ends the proper location being the back of the
forearm just below the point at which a large muscle mass is
~ormed which changes the shape o~ ~he forearm between action
and relaxation. The mstal strip 1, besides being o~ the pre-
scribed length as described above, is provi~ed with a some-
what permanent bend at the location of the mid-transverse
piece~ to accommodate the angle between the hand and forearm
when the wrist is in back position caused by the grip upon
the tennis handle A. A space bar 8 made o~ plastic material
joins the piece 4 with the piece 6, to hold the two pieces pro-
perly spaced when the device is strapped onto the arm.
In Figure S. is shown the wrist and forearm support
combination. In this case the support starts off with the same
components as shown for the wrist support, but an additional
metal strip 9 is attached to the free end of piece 4, and it
extends to just below the elbow. To the ~ree end o~ the strip 9
is attached a transverse piece 10 to the free end of which i5 at- -
tached a Trade Mark "Velcro" tape 11 which provides a circular sup-
port around the muscles of the forearm just below their at-
tachment a~` the angle of the elbow. The external mechanical
support provided by the piece 10, its tape 11, and the extra
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~L~49580
.- metal strip 9, limit the rotation of the forearm, and lessens
tension and excursion of movement o~ painful tissues attached
to the elbow bones, the over-stretch of which causes the pain
of tennis elbow. The strip 9, which is the ~crearm support,
and which, as previously stated, is attached to the piece 4~
passes under the tape 7, and is removably atta¢hed to the piece
~; 6 to allow the placing of the arm into the support.
: In some cases where additional support to the elbow
may be beneficial both~rom the point of view of learning pro-
per swing, and. ~or further prevention of tennis elbow, by limit-
ing elbow movement, an additional support is provid.ed; such a
support is shown in Figure 4. This support consists of a .
' straight metal strip 12 which is attachable to point "X" shown
in Figure 5~ The attachable end is provided with a Trade Mark
"~elcro" tape 15, and the other end is provided with a transverse
piece 13 which is wrapped around the arm above the elbow. ~o the
free end of piece 13 is attached a Trade Mark "Velcro" tape 14.
The back and front views of the arm wearing the fore~ .
arm support are shown in Figures 6 and 7,re~pectivelg.
Figures 8 and 9 show the back and. ~ront view res-
pectively, of the arm wearing the forearm support with the
elbow attachment~
The primary considerations in the d.esign of the
above described invention consist of providing an effecti~e arm ~.-
25 support which has the following characteristics~- ~
(a) It limits faulty movement without producing pain, : :
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(b) The limitation of movement is associated with a feel- .- ~ .
ing of pressure which enhances the self awareness of the in~
d.ividual as to the position of the limb in spaceO
(c) ~y a continuous practice period, and through the
process of bio-feedback, the prop~r movement of the arm has : .
been permanently acquired, and the support can be di card.ed.
To add to the comfort of wearing the supports, various
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soft paddings can be provided to the underside of the sup-
port components, when desired. Also, the method o~ using
"Velcro" tapes to hold the supports to the arm have been
selected because of their easy and simple attachment and re-
5 moval. However, a large variety oi tapes, straps, and fasteners
can replace these tapes, when so required, without departing
from the scope o~ the invention.
Although the shapes and locations o~ the various plastic
components have been portrayed in a general way, whish is consi~
10 dered ~u~icient to ~eseribe the func~i~ns of thè inventib~,, spe-
cifi¢ description oY outline,etc., as for instance in the case of
the hand piece, have been omitted, as it i~ believed that this
would involve the use o~ dimensions and geometric diagrams, there-
by considerably limiting the scope of the invention. Essentially,
1~ the shape and location of the components of the invention were, -
in each case, designed to prevent undue pressure which would
result in pain to ~ensitive parts of the hand and arm~
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